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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CITY OF OSHKOSH SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY BOARD Minutes November 4,2019 PRESENT: Margy Davey, Michelle Bogden Muetzel, Pat Dwyer Hallquist, Lurton Blassingame, Eric DeGroot, Vic Oliver, Bradley Spanbauer EXCUSED: Robert Turner,Jake Krause,Adam Maslowski ABSENT: None STAFF AND OTHERS: Steven Wiley, Scott Williams (Oshkosh Media), Steve Barney (1335 Summit Ave), Linus Muetzel I. Call to Order Chair Margy Davey called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm and a quorum was declared present. II. Public Comment Chair Davey asked if there were public comments. Steve Barney(1335 Summit Avenue)spoke and stated that Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg submitted the IPCC Special Report: "Global Warming of 1.5"' to the US Congress. Mr. Barney stated that he had done the same locally for the Common Council. The IPCC report contained summaries for policy makers but was focused more on a national level than locally. Mr. Barney stated that the IPCC emphasized greenhouse gas reductions and stated that a website (ipcc.ch) existed. He suggested that board members go online and look for the 511, Assessment Report and examine Chapter 12 which was the urban mitigation chapter. Mr. Barney donated copies of the IPCC reports and stated that Mr. Wiley could hold them for the SAB's reference. He explained that he was submitting summaries of the IPCC report as his testimony. The board thanked Mr. Barney and he gave Mr. Wiley the IPCC reports. Chair Davey introduced Bradley Spanbauer as the newest SAB member. She asked Mr. Spanbauer to provide a brief introduction. Mr. Spanbauer stated that he was a biology lecturer at UW-Oshkosh and also was the campus sustainability officer. He stated that he split his time between teaching 50% of the time and campus sustainability work 50%of the time. He explained that he had been doing sustainability work for 10 years at the university. He mentioned that he would like to lend his expertise to the SAB and was looking forward to serving. III. Approval of Minutes,October Th,2019 No board members had any revisions for the minutes so the board approved the October Th minutes 7- 0 (Dwyer-Hallquist/Blassingame). IV. Governor's Executive Order#38—Clean Energy in Wisconsin—Discussion/Action Chair Davey explained that she had contacted Representative Gordon Hintz's office and that Representative Hintz was scheduled to attend the December 2nd SAB meeting and speak about sustainability initiatives at the state level. Mr. Wiley explained that Mr. Barney had spoken at a recent Council meeting on Executive Order #38 and greenhouse gas reductions and that the Council had asked the City Manager to research potential funding options at the state level for municipalities hoping to address greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Wiley explained that his supervisors Allen Davis and Mark Lyons directed him to research funding sources at the state level. Mr. Wiley had started by contacting the Governor's office. He stated that the Governor's office had put him in contact with the Department of Natural Resources, the Public Service Commission and the Department of Administration. Mr. Wiley stated that Laurel Sukup of the DNR had contacted him and Brett Halverson of Gordon Hintz's office also contacted him and provided information. Megan Levy from the Office of Energy Innovation mentioned that her office had put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for zero emissions vehicles in October and that the deadline to apply was November 8f. Mr. Wiley stated that the timeline was very tight for this one but that Ms. Levy had mentioned that her website had a Funding Opportunities Web Tool that was regularly updated with funding options that might or might not be applicable for Oshkosh. Mr. Spanbauer mentioned Executive Order (EO) #38 which was issued by the Governor earlier in 2019. He explained that the Executive Order came up at the University and they had discussed how the UW system would contribute. He stated that the EO called for carbon neutral electricity but did not mention heat. Mr. Spanbauer suggested that perhaps the EO should be broadened. He explained that UW-Oshkosh was switching away from coal to natural gas in April,2020 and that natural gas was cleaner and reduced use of coal continued to better air quality. He stated that the majority of campus heat was generated by coal so far with some fuel pellets to supplement. Mr. Spanbauer explained that at the UW System meeting he made contact with Focus on Energy and he could reach out about funding opportunities. Ms. Bogden Muetzel asked if staff helped with grant applications or if the board members helped. She explained that she could help. Chair Davey answered that generally staff would put together grant applications. She updated the board on discussion that had occurred regarding the EO on Wisconsin Public Radio. She explained that Mr. Barney had brought the WPR discussion to the board's attention. Lieutenant Governor Barnes and Representative Ott were on the program. Mr. Spanbauer mentioned item 2b in the Executive Order and the Paris Climate Accord. He asked about putting this on the January agenda and Chair Davey answered that staff could put a draft resolution supporting the EO and Paris Climate Accord on the agenda. Mr. Wiley explained that staff/the SAB could draft a resolution and he would ask his supervisors to review it. If they granted approval,Mr. Wiley would send it to the City Manager who could decide whether to place it on a Council agenda for consideration. V. City Use of Weedkillers-Discussion Chair Davey provided a background on the City's use of weedkillers and explained that City Forester Bill Sturm had come in and spoke to the SAB at an earlier meeting and that the entire City Landscape Operations staff was licensed by the state to use weedkillers in compliance with state regulations. Chair Davey stated that the City often has private contractors that handle some of the landscape maintenance and that there was some uncertainty as to the extent that they used weedkillers. Chair Davey stated that the weedkiller discussion was still on the board's radar. Mr. Spanbauer asked if the City had a policy in place or some type of Integrated Best Practice Plan. Chair Davey replied that she would send Mr. Spanbauer the link to the SAB meeting where Mr. Sturm explained the City's use of weedkillers. VI. Plastic Bag Update Chair Davey updated the board and mentioned that the SAB had this discussion previously. She stated that there was a renewed discussion about potentially banning plastic bags at the state level, so she was brining it forward to the SAB for their own knowledge and consideration. VII. Fall 2019 UW-Oshkosh Student Projects -Update Mr. Wiley updated the board and explained that he had forgotten to include the item on the previous meeting agenda. The Environmental Studies class had split into four groups and staff had discussed with Professor Feldman the idea of giving the groups more latitude to select projects they were interested in. This semester the groups had focused on the following: • Potential of integrating solar technology on City properties • Native plantings and the potential to improve Shoreland regulations • Recognition program for restaurants cutting their use of single use plastics • Program to introduce local food in the schools. Mr. Wiley explained that the student groups had met with him and communicated with him regarding their projects. He had connected them with various stakeholders that they could engage with for input. Mr. Wiley reminded the board that the final student presentations were scheduled for the December 2nd SAB meeting at 6 pin in Room 404 of City Hall (normal meeting room). Council members, City staff, the City Manager and interested members of the public would be invited to attend. VIII. Proposal—Electric Vehicle Project—Eric DeGroot-Update Mr. Wiley provided an update on the EV project Mr. DeGroot had initiated. Mr.Wiley explained that he had asked his supervisors about proceeding and that staff had access to the existing vehicle fleet information. Upon receiving supervisor/City Manager approval,Mr.Wiley could proceed with the project. Mr. DeGroot asked Mr. Wiley to let him know if he could assist in any way. IX. Lakeshore Master Planning Process-Update Mr. Wiley stated that the most recent Advisory Park Board meeting was held on October 21s' and the consultant had presented the preferred concept to the Advisory Park Board. The next step in the process was Plan Commission and Common Council review which was set to take place in November/December 2019. X. Menominee Shoreland Restoration-Update Ms. Bogden Muetzel stated that the Friends of Menominee Shoreland held an educational event towards the end of October with college students and TIA graders. She stated that college students did some of the plantings and that the Oshkosh Housing Authority helped make the collaborative event possible. She stated that the Friends of Menominee Shoreland would have a Benvenutos fundraiser on November 251". She announced that people could come and say that they were there for the Friends of Menominee Shoreland. XI. Social Media-Discussion/Action Chair Davey asked if it would be possible to create a post for the Benvenutos night. Ms. Oliver replied affirmatively. She informed the board that she had sent Mr.Wiley the posts for November and that she was focusing on No Waste November for the month. She mentioned that she created three posts per week for November rather than two for the month. She stated that she could focus on electric vehicles for December and that guest speaker Jane McCurry had provided good information at the October SAB meeting to draw from. XII. Agenda Items for Future Meeting Chair Davey asked if board members had any items to propose for the next agenda. Mr. DeGroot's electric vehicle project would stay on the agenda. Chair Davey stated that Representative Gordon Hintz was scheduled to speak at the December meeting and that the UW-Oshkosh students would be giving their presentations to the board, Council members, City staff and the public. Chair Davey explained that the plastic bag discussion could go on the January agenda and that January was also traditionally when the board held its annual planning workshop. The 2020 Planning Workshop would also be on the agenda. XIV. Next Meeting,Monday, December 2nd,2019-City Hall Room 404 Chair Davey reminded the board of the next meeting. The board voted 7-0 to adjourn at 6:38 pm (Blassingame/Bogden Muetzel). Recorded by: Steven Wiley,Assistant Planner